The Darigan Eyrie
by TheDragonLover
Summary: This is a story I wrote a long time ago, but I've felt that I should put it up anyways. It's based on how discrimination can hurt everyone, no matter who you are, but love can always heal you. Might have a little bit of violence.
1. Chapter 1

A darigan Eyrie flew above the quiet streets of Neopia in the dark midnight sky. He looked down at the empty streets, thinking of what happened – was it only three days ago?

He had been walking calmly down the street, not bothering anyone, at the Marketplace. He looked around at the shops, admiring the things he couldn't afford. He looked at the poor bottled fairies, huddled in those small bottles, waiting for someone to let them free. He wanted so badly to take them all back to the forests and set them all free, but he didn't have enough money to even buy the bottle they came in.

He passed by a merchants shop, when suddenly a paw bluntly turned him around. He looked into the angry eyes of a Faerie Xweetok, glaring at him. The Xweetok glowered at him. "You! You're the thief that stole my plushie!"

He stared at her, confused. Even though he didn't have any money, he never stole anything in his entire life. The Xweetok had an Elephante with a club following her. They looked at him accusingly. He shook his head. "No, I would never -"

The Elephante interrupted, "You Darigans are just trouble!" He came towards him, club ready. The Darigan decided it a good time to put his wings to use. He pumped his wings and flew off into the sky, above the noise and chatter of the Market. The Elephante shook his club at him, but he couldn't do anything.

Now, the Eyrie had been on the run for well over four days now, being blamed for crimes he didn't commit. He felt shunned because of his color, and that's exactly what was wrong with him. Even after the war, he was thought of as evil and demented. He blinked back the tears he's hidden since the day it all started, when he found the Darigan Paintbrush on the ground…

As he had been the day the Xweetok wrongly accused him, he had been walking down the streets, a regular green Eyrie at the time. He was visiting the Money Tree, looking for something that some other owner or pet hadn't already taken. He looked around, and had many failed attempts with many different foods. Finally, he gave up and sat by the trunk, wings drooping.

He was about to leave when he heard a _thud! _He looked around. He looked by his paws, and there, right next to him, was a paintbrush! He thanked whatever Neopet there was up there watching him and picked it up to make sure it was real. He felt the cool handle and grinned. It was real, alright!

He looked around for a ghost that might steal his find, and ran to the Haunted Woods. He didn't even bother to flap his wings and fly, afraid someone in the air would see him. He ran deep into the Woods before he finally stopped. His muscles screamed for air, so he gave them a rest. Only then did he look at what paintbrush that he had found.

His eyes widened. A Darigan Paintbrush! He almost yelled out and whooped and hollered with joy. He quickly looked around, tucked the paintbrush under his wing, and flew to the rainbow pool. He looked at his plain reflection in the water, and put the Paintbrush to his face. He hesitated, but after a minute he finally closed his eyes, put the bristles on his face and painted himself.

When he was done, he was too afraid to open his eyes. Slowly, he peeked out of one eye and looked at his reflection. There, standing gracefully on the banks of the rainbow pool, was a hardly recognizable Darigan Eyrie, looking so majestic he almost cried. _That's me! _He thought as he took a deep breath through his mouth, and took in every detail he could think of.

He flapped his wings and found he could fly faster than before. He smirked and took off into the air, zooming up and down and in loop-de-loops and dives. He had so much fun he couldn't see the time pass by. Soon, it was time to go to him and his friends' hideout, where they hid from the adoption center and owners.

He flew over to a tree in the Haunted Woods and alighted on one of its branches. He looked around and carefully knocked on the trunk. A small slit slid open, and a green eye stared at him. It said in a bored voice, "Who is it, and what's the password?"

The proud Eyrie replied simply, "A life is worth living." The voice sighed, and the slit slid shut. Then, a door appeared in the bark, and a Moehog looked at him lazily. He gestured. "Come on in." As soon as he came in, he felt at home. His pals were all here; the red Wocky that escaped from the pound; the blue Flotsam from a cruel owner; (surprisingly) the Faerie Pteri, from Faerieland; and many other pets.

The group looked at him, and froze. The hideout was quiet. Finally, the new Darigan said, "Hey, guys! I'm back!" They didn't answer him. The red Wocky looked him up and down. "Who are you?" He was shocked. "Don't you remember me? The green Eyrie?"

The Flotsam nodded. "Yeah, but who are you?" The Eyrie was devastated. _They don't remember me? _He stepped towards them, but they all backed away. He looked at them, pleading. "Please, guys, you've gotta remember me!" The Pteri flew up to him, jabbing her beak at him. "Keep away, you monster!"

The once proud Eyrie backed away slowly, just now coming to realize they couldn't see it was him. "Grim? Sunshine? Flipper?" He reached out towards each one in turn. They all shivered, and he looked at his paws. He saw purple paws, with huge hook-like claws, ready to hurt some poor, innocent pet. He backed up against the wall, terrified. Everybody grouped around him, trying to keep him away.

He panicked and flew over their heads towards the door. He flew out, startling the Moehog, and into the pitch black sky. He cried into the darkness, cried until he couldn't cry anymore. Then, he settled on a branch far, far away from the hideout, and closed his eyes.

He woke up the next morning tired, cold, and hungry. And another feeling tore at his heart, his soul, and ripped a hole through his life. He realized…

…he was alone…

Now, as he sat on a cliff looking over the calm city, he couldn't help but wonder. "Why?" He spoke out to the wind. "What did I ever do wrong? Is this my ill fate I shall have?" The wind whispered to him, but he couldn't understand. One small, almost unnoticeable tear flowed down his cheek and stained the ground.

He bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Am I an outcast?" He listened hard. The wind was trying to tell him something. "Am I the one that shall be shunned forever?" The wind whispered, "Follow me, follow me…" He stood up, the wind whistling through his fur and feathers. He listened to the whispers, and finally, he lifted his wings and took off.

The sun was just starting to rise, and he flew towards it with the wind, following yet flowing with it. He was one with the wind, going over the hills and valleys, through the gorges and mountains. He followed it until it died down and left him on another cliff. He smelled the air. It had a fishy smell, with a hint of salt. He stared over the waters of the sea, looking towards the horizon.

"Where do I belong?"


	2. Chapter 2

That same morning, a gray Lupe was walking slowly through the mist in an empty cemetery. She dragged her paws through the moist dirt, her tail dragging behind her. She looked at the names on the tombstones as she passed them. _Celia Roubert, John Riebay, Dasher Mink… _

She passed her parents' graves. "Julia and Haven Monocor…" She traced her paw along the writing. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes, but she didn't care. Crying never solved anything, and it surely wasn't gonna bring her parents back.

She heard fluttering. Her ears perked up. Something else was around, that was certain. Where, she didn't know. She listened hard. Her ears picked up whispering. She heard someone say, "Where do I belong?"

Her ears were either magical or supernatural, but they were able to pick up sounds more than three or four miles away. Now, it was faint, so she guessed it wasn't right by the cemetery. She also heard waves. That must mean it, whatever _it _was, had to be by the ocean.

She sighed, the only sound to be heard in the muffling fog. She might as well go and look, since she had nothing better to do. She took one last look at her mother's grave, and walked out of the cemetery.

She followed the whispers until she came to a cliff. Something was at the top, talking to itself. She looked up towards the sky. The creature was a dark purple, like after the sun sets and before midnight. She got curious and walked up.

_Whatever the thing is, it must have a lot of time on its paws, or wings, because this cliff is huge… _

She kept complaining to nobody in particular while she climbed up, until she finally came to the creature's level. She stifled a gasp. _It's a Darigan…Eyrie… _She tried not to look surprised, but his sorrow was what caught her attention. She smelled salt.

The Eyrie looked up at her, his red eyes still wet. He looked back down, ashamed. She wasn't afraid of him, but his beauty struck her odd. _Beauty from such a deadly creature…like a rose is beautiful, until you prick your paw on a thorn…_

He kept his gaze to the ground. "Are you going to run away, too?" He said in such a deep, scratchy voice he had to have been crying before she got her. She took a deep breath. "Why would I run away?"

He didn't look up, but the shock was clear in his voice. "You aren't afraid of me?"

_Afraid of you? _She looked at his strong muscles, his powerful wings, and the beautiful shade of purple in his coat. She couldn't think of what to say, so she didn't say anything. She felt sadder now that she met another one like her. _An outcast, sent out because he was different…_

She walked over and sat beside him. He looked over the ocean, where the sun's reflection shone like a golden doubloon. Another tear rolled down his cheek and into the soft earth. The gray Lupe didn't say a thing. Finally, he spoke to her in a deeper voice, "Why are you here?"

She looked at him. "I heard whispers, so I followed them and found you." He didn't say anything else, so she went back to staring at the ocean. The Flotsams and Peophins would be playing underwater volleyball by now…

Now a tear rolled down her cheek. She turned away, but he saw it. "Why are you crying?" He sounded concerned for his new friend. She glanced at him, and whispered so quietly he barely caught, "I'm different than others, too…"

He wiped the tear from her cheek. "Then we are both ill-fated." She smiled at him, the first time she had in years. She had found another outcast like her, one that understood her, and she loved every minute of it.

She had found a friend.


	3. Chapter 3

They both were happy that the other was with them, so they traveled to the Lost Desert together. They walked on the hot sand over to Celtzan's shrine. He let her walk up to it, and she stepped quietly over to the shrine. She bowed before the mighty masterpiece.

Her ears heard someone say, "I hope this helps you, dear girl…" Then, the voice was gone. She looked down, and saw a Lupe plushie. She smiled and picked it up. She walked over to the darigan Eyrie and gave it to him. He squeezed it, and got a satisfactory 'squeak' out of it.

They walked to the tug-o-war and watched the pets tug the rope back and forth. The pets grunted as they pulled as hard as they could. A Bruce pulled an Elephante into the river, and his pals cheered.

They clapped too, but their mind was on the looks they were getting. Pets were giving them dirty looks like they were a horrible disease. It was mostly directed towards the Darigan, but, since she was with him, they avoided her too.

They were able to go through most of the day without conflict, but, when they went to the harbor to go to Krawk Island, they were found by a group of pets. A Tyrannian Grrarl walked over to them and pushed him, but he ignored him. The Grrarl turned him around roughly and growled, "Why won't you fight, Darigan?"

The gray Lupe grabbed his paw, but the Darigan just replied calmly, "I'm not looking for a fight." The Grrarl motioned to his friends and a Halloween Kougra slowly stepped up and grabbed the darigan Eyrie by his fur collar.

"You not looking for a fight, huh?" He spat in his face. He grinned. "Well, it looks like you found one anyway."

He threw him on the ground. The Eyrie got up and dusted himself off. The Kougra picked up his paws and smirked. "Well? Battle me!" The Eyrie shook his head. The gray Lupe ran beside him, and the group laughed. A regular red Kyrri snickered, "Look at that! The sad old Lupe is worried for her freak friend!"

The Kougra took a step towards her, but the Darigan Eyrie stepped in front of her protectively. He glared at the Kougra, making him flinch. The Grrarl sneered. "He thinks he can protect her! Isn't that a laugh?"

The Kougra put up his paws again. This time the Darigan didn't back down. The Kougra smirked. "Well, tough guy? Let's see what ya got!"

The Kougra didn't even see the punch coming. It hit him full in the face, knocking him back a few feet. He felt his face, and his paw came from his bloody nose. He looked at the Darigan and growled, "Is that all you've got?"

The Eyrie charged towards him. The Kougra jumped over him and grabbed his left wing. The Darigan swung around and used momentum to power up his punch. He sent the Kougra flying. He hit a wooden pole and groaned.

The rest of the group backed up, except the Grrarl. He stood up to him defiantly. "So you've taken Wiley out. Big deal. I'm the top honcho of this band of thugs. You ready?" The Darigan Eyrie glared at him, a fire of hatred burning in his eyes. He nodded.

The gray Lupe was hiding behind a barrel, watching him. Her eyes widened when he did the first move. The Darigan Eyrie flew up and dived at him. The Grrarl ducked and threw a rope at him. It wrapped around his beak, and the Grrarl pulled.

He let him pull him up close, and he swung a fake right hook at him. When the Grrarl went to dodge it, he swung his other paw quickly. It connected with the Grrarl's jaw, and he stumbled backwards. He shook his head and popped his jaw back into place.

The Darigan charged towards him again, and yelled, "This is for the Darigans!" He grabbed the Grrarl's arm and threw him on a pole. The Grrarl groaned and stood up, wobbly from the impact.

The Darigan picked him up by his collar. "This is for the outcasts!" He hit him against a wall. The Grrarl looked at him, terrified.

The Darigan smirked. "And this…is for me."

He suddenly shot into the air, high over the harbor. The pets all pointed at him and the Grrarl, flying higher and higher into the air. The Darigan stopped, almost five hundred feet in the air, and glared at the Grrarl. The Grrarl's eyes froze with fright.

Then, he dropped. He held the Grrarl tight as he flew down towards the water. The Grrarl roared, trying to escape his grip, but he held him firmly. He plummeted towards the water, eyes barely slits against the wind of his fall.

Right before he hit the water, he released his wings. He curved up just in time. The Grrarl actually felt the water spray on his face as the Darigan flew towards the harbor. He alighted on the harbor, and everybody backed away.

He dropped the Tyrannian Grrarl on the ground. The Grrarl scrambled up and ran off, followed by his crew, except for the knocked out Halloween Kougra. The gray Lupe finally walked over to him. He was standing there, his eyes closed.

She put her paw on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her, and she saw the confusion in his eyes. He shook his head. She closed her eyes, trying to forget what she saw, but images of him hurting the pets were vivid in her mind.

She opened her eyes, and saw that the Darigan had his eyes closed again. He whispered, "I couldn't do it." She looked at him, unable to understand what he meant. He continued, "I couldn't finish what I started. I stopped myself before the blow was done."

She tried to speak to him, but she couldn't understand what he was trying to say. So she asked him, "What do you mean?"

He looked at her. "I couldn't finish what I was about to do; I pulled up before I hit the water. I couldn't…" His voice trailed off. The gray Lupe rubbed his beak. "Sometimes," she whispered. "Even though we are very angry, we can't hurt someone like they did to us."

The Darigan Eyrie looked up at the sky. "But I thought of hurting him."

The Lupe patted him on the back. "Hey, sometimes people wished they could hurt someone, like their little brother, but they don't really _mean_ it."

The Darigan looked at her. He smiled. "Well, I guess he isn't my little bro, but it's basically the same thing…"

They walked off, hand in hand, smiling at each other. They would go through everything, thick and thin, no matter what. They will always watch out for each other, keeping all of the world's pain and sorrow away from the other. They would stay side by side, with a bond stronger than anyone has ever had with two such different neopets.

Because they were meant for each other.


End file.
